Royal Holloway Bears
The Royal Holloway Bears (formerly the Vikings) are a member of the British Universities American Football League (BUAFL)'s 4th Conference-Southern Division. The Vikings finished their first BCAFL season with a 2-6 record. During their second season, despite some big losses, the Vikings were unlucky not to improve on their rookie season record. Off-season improvements are constantly being made to make the Vikings a team that can challenge the big guns of the league. In the Vikings' 3rd season, they managed to get their first playoff berth in club history. The RHUL Vikings have a strong corp of veteran players, many of whom have been there since the club's inception to the league in 2005. These, along with a dedicated crew of new players has brought about a sharp turn of success in the 2007-08 campaign. The 2007 season is to be remembered by anyone who pulls on that coveted Purple and Green, as one of the greatest in Vikings History. Reaching the southern playoffs and attaining an overall ranking of 5 in the South of the UK and 9th in GB is likely to be an achievement unsurpassed in years to come. A group of 25 close-knit players including the three year vets that founded the club, an insurgence of American talent, and a handful of promising rookies helped guide the Vikings into the record books as one of the only 4 teams to reach the playoffs within 3 years of starting in the UK student league. The record of 6-2, beat that of the historically successful Greenwitch Mariners, the 60 man squad of the Reading Knights and the reigning BUAFL Champions UWE Bullets. Unfortunately, at the start of the 2008/09 season many of the squad graduated and became ineligible to play. With a change of name to the Bears, the first match of the season saw 6 players who had experience of the game lining up with roughly 20 rookies. Although the side showed promise through the season, injuries and a lack of experience saw the Bears finish on their worst record of 0-7. Post-Season Game Report The Vikings all dyed their hair red based on what the original Vikings had. The Vikings travelled to Bath for their first ever playoff appearance. With the Killer Bees 7-0, the Vikings knew that the task that awaited them was not going to be an easy one. On a windy Sunday afternoon, the game kicked off; the Killer Bees took over at the 24yrd line. The Bees were able to set the tone early and took advantage of the Vikings' small squad, with some well constructed hurry offence plays, the Killer Bees were able to score with a powerful first drive. The Vikings took over on offence, and with a 3 and out, they were forced to punt. After a botched punt attempt, the Killer Bees were given a golden opportunity to score yet again, only a few yards from the Vikings goal-line. Despite heroic defence efforts, notably from Joseph Buckley, the Killer Bees managed to score via a bootleg from the QB. The Vikings were determined not to go down easily, and with the next drive, managed to find a hole in the Killer Bees secondary, with rookie Milo Baumgart producing a stunning catch, despite heavy coverage, took it all the way to the endzone, only to be called back for a harsh penelty for tripping. With the Vikings unable to produce another break-through play, they were forced 4 and out, and the Bees offence took over once again. The Bees managed to produce 3 more touchdowns before the end of the half. Half time score: Vikings 0 Killer Bees 32. The Vikings came out at the 2nd half fired up and refusing to let the Bees produce another half like the first. With the Vikings offence unable to break through the stern Bees defence, the Vikings began to play for pride rather than victory. The defence coming out strong, an interception from Rookie and game MVP Sean Warrington, some key sacks from Andrew Bergman, and along with some strong tackling from the rest of the Vikings defence meant the Bees only managed to get through to score once throughout the entire 2nd half. The game ended 39-0, with the Vikings first ever playoff berth in history, over. John Morford was given recognition for his energetic work rate, and''' Andrew Bergman''' was rewared with hit of the day following a solid sack on the Killer Bees QB. Team Records by Season *2005-06 - 2-6-0 *2006-07 - 2-6-0 *2007-08 - 6-2-0 (0-1 in Playoffs) *2008-09 - 0-7-0 2008/09 Results BEARS @ Greenwich Mariners: 0-38 L BEARS @ Southampton Stags: 0-92 L BEARS @ Essex Blades: 6-29 L BEARS @ Surrey Stingers: 0-28 L BEARS @ Portsmouth Destroyers: 6-40 L BEARS @ Brighton Tsunami: 0-46 L BEARS @ ARU Phantoms: 12-38 L 2007/08 Results Surrey Stingers @ VIKINGS: 0-13 W VIKINGS @ Reading Knights: 45-0 W Brighton Tsunami @ VIKINGS: 6-13 W VIKINGS @ Southampton Stags: 8-84 L VIKINGS @ Portsmouth Destroyers: 24-15 W VIKINGS @ Surrey Stingers: 26-0 W Reading Knights @ VIKINGS: 26-18 L VIKINGS @ Brighton Tsunami: 7-6 W Playoffs Rnd 1: VIKINGS @ Bath Killer Bees: 0-39 L 2006/07 Results VIKINGS @ARU Phantoms: 13-28 L Greenwich Mariners @ VIKINGS: 12-51 L VIKINGS @ Kent Falcons: 20-12 W Hertfordshire Hurricanes @ VIKINGS: 6-69 L VIKINGS @ Oxford Cavaliers: 0-7 L VIKINGS @ Essex Blades: 6-45 L Kent Falcons @ VIKINGS: 6-34 L ARU Phantoms @ VIKINGS: 42-26 W VIKINGS @ BCUC Buccaneers: 76-0 W Team Roster 2008-2009 Season Coaching Staff 2008/09 Sharif Omar - Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator Julien Bell - Asst. Coach (Offensive/Defensive Line) Laurent Michel - Defensive Coordinator, (Defensive Line/Linebackers) Duncan Waugh - Asst. Defensive Coordinator, (Linebackers/DB's) George - Asst. Coach Captains 2008/09 Joseph Polterak - OL, DL Rob Collins - QB Joe Buckley - MLB Sean Warrington - CB, RB 2007/08 Season Awards Defensive Rookie of the Year - Sean Warrington Offensive Rookie of the Year - Milo Baumgart Defensive MVP - Joseph Buckley Offensive MVP - Andrew Ruegg Players' Player - Philip Riley Coaches' Player - Stuart Miller 2008/09 Season Awards Rookie of the Year - Sam Jones Defensive MVP - Sean Warrington Offensive MVP - Aidan Watson Players' Player - Joseph Buckley Season MVP - Joseph Poltorak External links *BUAFL British Universities American Football League Official Site *BCAFL Category:BUAFL teams